Emin Colasan: First tension, then tears

Hürriyet Haber

08.09.2005 - 14:52 | Son Güncelleme: 08.09.2005 - 14:52

We are living out very interesting days in our country. Clashes and lynching attempts increase. Everyone is on the make for themselves. No trust remains for the government. The situation is quickly descending into street anarchy.

And here is something you will hear spilling from the mouths of government officials:

"It is not coincidental that these incidents are increasing in the days before the October 3 accession talks. They are doing it especially in the lead up to talks with the EU in order to weaken Turkey's hand."

There is in fact no such connection. The same Kurdish factions which create clashes and terror are completely on the side of Turkey entering the EU. Abdullah Ocalan has given this same message from Imrali, many times in fact. And all of the organizations and important individuals in the Kurdish faction give this message.

Their entire drive is for Turkey to enter under EU authority. After all, "rights and freedoms" lie down that road, under the pressure of the EU.

And what are these rights and freedoms?

In short: The acceptance of Kurdish as a mother tongue, Kurdish education, independent local governance, and finally, a federation.....

And the ultimate step, a Southeast disconnected from Turkey. A free Kurdistan!

And they create the clashes to attract the attention of the EU.

For this reason, the above statement by the Turkish government authority are not only untrue, but also meaningless.

The Kurdish factions want from the deepest part of their hearts that Turkey should enter the EU.

Let's look at the last incident. They get on buses from the four corners of Turkey and go to Gemlik. Why Gemlik?....Because the lawyers and family members of Ocalan who go to visit him on Imrali Island leave from there. So, posters of Apo on the buses, PKK flags. The important thing is to make noise, to create a scene. And they created it. And succeeded in attracting the attention of the EU.

***

Diyarbakir Mayor Osman Baydemir is right now the guest of EU authorities in Brussels and Strasbourg. Yesterday he spoke at length with EU Parliament Head Borrell.

Have you ever heard of another Turkish mayor who has been called by EU authorities and spoken at length with Borrell and other authorities?

What did they talk about? Who knows! Maybe football, maybe gossip! Maybe they spoke about how the weather is getting cooler as we head into the fall!

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Ocalan has, for the past two years especially now, been heading his organization from prison on Imrali. He meets with his lawyers there every year, and send directives through them to the PKK. Why is that happening? How has a special situation been arranged for Ocalan which has never been arranged for anyone else in the government?

Because that's how the EU wants it.

The situation has surprised even Talabani! As he tells it himself, one day he asked Recep Tayyip Erdogan: "How is it that someone in prison can give an order to fight against a government?"

And Erdogan replied: "This is a democracy."

And so now we are living out the results of this "understanding democracy."

Anyway, since I've come to this point, I would like to draw your attention to one other subject:

In April, during a trip to Norway, Erdogan said "We have no Kurdish problem." In August he said "We have a Kurdish problem." And, if you'll notice, it was after this last statement that the street incidents and provocations started to increase. I call this coincidence! I wonder what you'll say?

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The games being played with Turkey are very clear. Certain factions are trying to get in with the EU, because along with EU acceptance, they also gain "freedom." They use this road to create tension, and to create enemies for Turks and Turkey. They provocate. In the end, there is an event, an incident. And then they cry. This is the tactic. Is it their fault? No, it is the fault of the people in charge who have given Ocalan the right to direct PKK from his cell, who have shown him unbelievable patience. It is the fault of those who say "This is democracy." Those who have changed the laws to favor terrorists.

Primarily, it is the fault of those who have put the Turkish Republic's national interests aside, and indexed the fate and fortune of our country and people, as well as the Cypriot, Kurdish and Armenian issues, on the EU. And they are now reaping what they have sown.